Switch



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May 28, 1940. T. J. MUDON 2,202,297

SWITCH Filed June 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 28, 1940. T, J MUDQN2,202,297

SWITCH Filed June 14. 19257 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 j; jail-FF" 131 fj J/ J7 j?An 2.0M W W @j Patented May 2s, 1940 UNITED STATES mozas-r PATENT OFFICE9 Claims.

The present invention relates-to switches and more particularly toswitch mechanisms for -controlling electric circuits so' as to enablethe operator of the switch to actuate a switch in the circuit andthereafter have a time lag between the time the switch is actuated andthe time it actually a'ects the circuit.

This switch mechanism is particularly applicable to house lightingsystems for the purpose of giving a person who actuates the switch toopen the lighting circuit a limited amount of time to reach anotherswitch in another adjacent room or to get into bed upon retiring beforethe lighting circuit is actually opened.

It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a switchof this character which is simple in structure and economical tomanufacture.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide a switch of thischaracter in which the time lag is obtained in such a fashion as toenable the operator of the switch to reverse the circuit connectionsinstantaneously at any time without the necessity of making any specialadjustment or performing any additional operation other than the mereactuation of the switch handle.

It is afurther purpose of the invention to provide a switch of thischaracter in which the operator may use the switch handle in such afashion as to obtain an instantaneous opening of the light circuit if heso desires.

The features and advantages of the present invention will appear morereadily as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to beunderstood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrativeonly and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except in so faras it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a sectionai view taken substantially on theline l-i of 3;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view partly in section illustrating the movingparts of the switch in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of a modified form of switchmechanism;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form of retardingdevice;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary view illustrating a further modied form ofretarding device; and

Fig, 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating a further modilcation of theretarding device.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the 5 switch mechanism is shownas mounted in a housing I0 such as is commonly used for a wall switch. Acover II is provided for the housing I0 and may be secured thereto byany suitable means not shown. The cover II has anopening i0 I2 throughwhich a switch handle I3 projects. A pair of stationary contacts i4 andI5 are mounted upon suitable insulating blocks I6 which are secured tothe housing ID. The stationary contacts I4 and I5 are secured in placeby termi- 15 nal screws I1 and I 8 in the manner shown in Fig. 1. Eachstationary Contact comprises a pair of spring jaws I9 and 20 which areadapted to receive one end of a bridging contact 2|. The

bridging contact 2| is supported by a pair of 80 arms 22 and 23 uponpivots 24 and 25 that are carried by a frame 26.

The frame 26 is mounted in the housing I0 so as to have a limitedpivotal movement therein.

The frame 26 is substantially U-shaped, as shown 25 best in Fig. 3. Atone end it has upwardly extended portions 21 and 28 which portions areapertured to receive screws 29 and 36, the screws 29 and 30 beingsecured in brackets 3l and 32.

Each bracket has a V-shaped head 33 upon which 80 the portions 21 and 28rest to provide a pivot point. At the other end of the frame 26, it isprovided with an upstanding portion 34 which has an end 35 extendingover a ledge 36 formed on the housing I0. A pin 31 extends through the35 portion 35 and the ledge 36. A spring 38 surrounds the pin 31 and isinterposed between the ledge 36 and a head 39 on the pin 31. It will beevident that the frame 26 can be rocked about the pivot point 33 bypulling it outwardly against 40 the tension of the spring 38.

In addition to the arms 22 and 23 which are of insulating material, thepivot members 24 and 25 also carry an actuating member 40. The actuatingmember 40 comprises two side plates 4I 45 and 42. The side plates 4I and42 are connected by a cross bar 43. They also carry at their free ends acreeping element 44 which is secured therein so as not to turn by meansof a pin 45.

The creeping element 44 may be composed of any 50 suitable material suchas rubber or synthetic rubber. The side plates 4I and 42 also haveformed integral therewith arcuate extensions 46 and 41 which extensionsare provided with pins 48 and' 49 and with outturned/ends 58 and 5I. 55

-23 so as to provide. for a lost motion connectionv between the movablecontact 2| and the actuating member 40. Each of the side plates 4I and42 is provided also with'inturned flanges 52 and 58 which flanges areadapted to engage corresponding shoulders 54 and 55 which are formed onthe switch handle I3.

The switch handle I3, as shown, is in the form of a yoke which issecured to the lpivot members 24 and 25. A pin 56 in the yoke part ofthe switch handle I3 is connected to the cross bar 43 by `a spring'51.It will be evident from an inspection of Figs. l and 4 that, in theposition ,shown in Fig. 1, the spring`51, which is under in a clockwisedirection so as to cause the pins 48 and 49 thereon to engage the arms22 and 23 carrying the bridging contact 2l and force the bridgingcontact into engagement with the stationary contacts I4 and i5. Now,-when the switch handle I3 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 4, itshifts the line of the spring 51 past the center of the pivot members 24and 25 so that the spring. then exerts a yielding force upon theactuating member 48 to swing it in a counterclockwise direction. Afterthe lost mtion afforded by the distance between the pins 48 and 49 andthe outturned ends 58 and 5i has been taken up by movement of theactuating member 40, the ends 56 and 5i will engage the arms 22 and 23and move the bridging contact 2l out of engagement with the stationarycontacts I4 and I5.

During the movement of the element 40 afv forded by the lostmotionconnection, the creepthrown to off position before the circuitcontrolled by the switch is opened. The track 58 is arcuate and ispivoted by means of a lpin 55 and ears 60 and 6l struck up from thehousing I6. Adjustment of the track 58 is provided by means of athreaded stem 62 which is threaded through the free end 63 of the track58 and which is rotatably mounted in the housing I0. A pair of collars64 and 65 serve to rotatably mount the stem 62 in the housing i6. Thestem 62 is provided with a screw head 66 which terminates in the coverIl and is accessible for 4adjustment to vary the position of the track58 with respect to the creeping element 44.

It will be noted that, in movement of the switch handle i3 from onposition shown in Fig. 1 to 01T position shown in Fig. 3, the forceemployed to move the switch handle is in such a direction as to tend toturn the frame 26 in a clockwise direction about its pivot 33. The ange35 resting upon the ledge 36 prevents any such movement, however, sothat, upon the opening of the switch, the frame 26 is not moved to causeany change in position of the pivot pins 24 and 25. It is evident thatthe operator may. if he desires to prevent the time lag occasioned bythe creeping element 44 moving over the track 58, pull outward upon theswitch handle I3 enough to prevent the element 44 from engaging thetrack. In that case, the actuating member 4I) will be free to snap overas soon as the spring 51 is moved past the center line of the pivot pins24 and 25. A substantially instantaneous openaaoaaor ing of the circuitmay thus be obtained by the operator if he desires. v

When the switch isbeing closed, however, and the handle I3 is beinglifted, the force necessary to lift the handle against the tension ofthe spring 51 is suilicient to overcome the pressure exerted by thespring 38. so that this spring is compressed somewhat andthe frame 26swings in a counterclockwise direction as the handle I3 is movedupwardly. Thecreeping element 44 is, therefore, moved out of the way ofthe track 58 at the beginning of the closing movement of the actuatingmember 40. The actuating member 4I) is thus given a snap movement towardposition 4to close the bridging contact, and, despite the l lag betweenthe manual operation necessary to open a circuit and the actual openingof the circuit. The time lag may be adjusted within limits at theconvenience of the operator. Furthermore, the operator is able to openand close a switch in the usual accepted manner and without thenecessity of performing any additional operations over what he wouldperform with the ordinary wall switch. The feature of taking advantage01' the force necessary to move the switch handle from one position toanother in order to prevent retardationwhen the switch is being closedeliminates all necessity for special mechanisms to get the retardingdevice out of operation when the switch is closed.

In Fig. 5, there is shown a slightly modified form of switch operatingmechanism in which the bridging contact 2l' is opened and closed bymeans of a bar 61 mounted on the actuating member 40' and engaging across pin 68 carried by the bridging contact 2l'. The switch handle I3and the spring 51', as well as the other mechanism not shown, remainunchanged in the modified form.

'Ihe operation of the modication shown in Fig. is substantially asfollows: When the handle I3' is moved in a direction to close the switchfrom the position shown in Fig. 5, the initial movement does nothinguntil the line of the spring 51 crosses the pivotal axis of the handleI3. At that point, the actuating member 40 swings with the bridgingcontact 2l' in a clockwise direction, thus forcing the bridging contactinto closed position. Now on the return movement, the initial movementof the actuating member '40' merely results in a movement of the member61 with respect to the pin 68 until the pin 68 occupies the dottedposition on the member 61. When this` position is reached, the member61'presses against the pin 68 and opens the bridging contact.

In Fig. 6, a modified form of retarding mechanism is shown. In thiscase, the actuating member 4I) engages a hanging arm 69 which takes theplace of the track 58. 'Ihis hanging arm has a stop thereon sopositioned as to stop and hold the actuating member 40 While at the sametime the arm 69 swings over to cause a contact 1I thereon to engage acontact 12 on a bimetallic thermostat element 13. When cold, the element13 holds the contact 12 in such position as to have an open circuitbetween 1l and 12, but close enough to 1| to prevent the element 40from4 passing the stop 10. When the contacts 1| and 12 are closed,current from a suitable source passes through a heat coil 14 on theelement 13, and, after a short time, the element 13 will be caused tosnap over into the dotted line position shown thus permitting the arm 69to swing out of the way of the element 40 which then continues to moveto open the switch contacts. After the element 40 has passed, the arm 69swings away and breaks contact between the contacts 1| and 12 so thatthe bimetallic element 13 returns to its original position. On thereverse movement of the arm 40 to close the switch, the arm 69 and thestop 10 are so sloped as to enable the element 40 to swing past themwithout stopping. There is a momentary closure of the contacts 1| and12, but this does not harm anything. The bimetallic element 13 may bepositioned, as desired, by means of an adjusting screw 15.

In Fig. '1, I have shown a slightly modied form of track in which twotrack elements 58a. and 58h receive the friction element 44therebetween. A metallic guard 16 may be used to shield the frictionelement 44 on the closing movement thereof which is in the direction ofthe arrow.

In the form shown in Fig. 8, the friction element 44' engages a track 58which is arranged at the side of the actuating member 40 instead of atthe end thereof.

From the above description, it is believed that the construction andoperation of this device will be readily apparent to those skilled inthis art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A switch of the character described comprising stationary contactsand a movable bridge contact movable into and out of position to connectsaid stationary contacts, and means for moving said bridge contactcomprising an actuating member having a lost motion connection with saidbridge contact, manually operable means for moving said actuating memberbetween a position where it holds the bridging contact in position toconnect the stationary contacts and a position where it holds thebridging contact away from the stationary contacts, and retarding meansfor said actuating member adapted to retard its movement during the lostmotion between it and the bridging contact as the actuating member ismoved from the rst named position to the position where it holds thebridging contact out of engagement with the stationary contact, saidretarding means comprising a track and a creeping element on theactuating member for engaging said track.

2. A switch having a movable circuit closing member, an actuating memberhaving a lost motion connection with said circuit closing member,manually operable means for moving said actuating member, and means forcausing a substantial time lag in the movement of said actuating memberrelative to the circuit closing member afforded by said lost motionconnection upon circuit opening movement, said time lag means beingrendered functionally inoperative by actuation of said manually operablemeans to effect circuit closing movement of the actuating member, saidtime lag means comprising a creeping element carried by the actuatingmember, and a track in the path of said element.

3. A switch having a movable circuit closing member, an actuating.member having a lost.

motion connection with said circuit closing member, manually operablemeans for moving said actuating member, and means for causing asubstantial time lag in the movement of said actuating member relativeto the circuit closing member aiorded by said lost motion connectionupon circuit opening movement, said time lag means being renderedfunctionally inoperative by actuation of said manually operable means toeilect circuit closing movement of the actuating member, said time lagmeans comprising a creeping element carried by the actuating member, anda track in the path of said element, and means for adjusting said trackto vary the pressure between it and the creeping element.

4. A switch having a movable circuit closing member, a pivotally mountedframe supporting said member, an actuating member having a lost motionconnection with said circuit closing member, manually operable meansincluding a spring for moving said actuating member between circuitclosing position and circuit opening position, said manually operablemeans and said actuating member being carried by said frame, stop meanslimiting movement of the frame by the manually operable means when theactuating member is moved toward circuit closing position, said framebeing movable in the other direction when the manually operable means isoperated to move the actuating member toward circuit closing position,and means for causing a substantial time lag in the movement of saidactuatingI member relative to the circuit closing member upon thecircuit opening movement thereof, said time lag means being renderedfunctionally inoperative by the aforesaid movement of the frame.

5. A time delay switch comprising a control handle, an electrical switchand a time lag mechanism connected with said switch, and meanscooperating with said handleoperable to make said time lag mechanismeffective, by movement of said handle to off position, to delay the timeof breaking connections, said means being operable by movement of saidhandle to on position, to make said time lag mechanism ineffective todelay the time of making connections.

6. A time delay switch comprising a control handle, an electricalswitch, a time lag mechanism, and means controlled by said controlhandle adapted selectively to cause the time lag mechanism to delay theswitch operation or cause the switch operation without the delay.

7. A switch having a movable circuit closing member, an actuating memberhaving a lost motion connection with said circuit closing member,manually operable means for moving said actuating member, and means forcausing a substantial time lag in the movement of said actuating memberrelative to the circuit closing member alforded by said lost motionconnection upon circuit opening moifement, and control mechanismconnected with and actuated by said manually operable means to releasethe actuating member from said time lag means.

8. A switch having a movable circuit closing member, manually operablemeans having a lost motion connection with said circuit closing member,time lag means connected with said manually operable means for causing adelay between movement of the manually operable means and consequentmovement of the circuit closing member, and means controlled by saidmanually operable means to render .said time lag means `funcdie adaptedselectively to cause the time lag tionally inoperative to delay circuitclosing move mechanism to delay the switch operation or cause ment ofsaid member.l the switch operation without the delay, said time 9. Atime delay` switch comprising a control lag mechanism comprising acreeping element,

- 5 handle, an electrical switch, a time lag mechand a track in the pathof said element.

anism, and means controlled by said control han- THOMAS J. MUDON.

